Rance's Chicago Pizza's House Special is stuffed with sausage, green peppers, onions and mushrooms and can feed six hungry guests. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The crust is about 2 inches thick on the house special stuffed pizza pie at Rance's Chicago Pizza. The Costa Mesa restaurant opened Sept. 15, 2012. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Ginny Kaufmann watches as her boyfriend Steven Quick digs into a slice of pepperoni pizza at Rance's Chicago Pizza in Costa Mesa. Quick, of Irvine, was looking for a Chicago-style pizza place near him. "I love the thick stuff," he said. "It's amazing." H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A pan pizza's carmelized crust is visible in the reflection of this pie made with meatballs, bacon and jalapeños. The golden brown, flaky crust interacts with the cheese's edges and becomes carmelized as it bakes, said Rance's Chicago Pizza co-owner/co-founder Rance Ruiz. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Local artist Will Thomson's "In a Tangle" is one of many art pieces on display at the Rance's Chicago Pizza restaurant in Costa Mesa. Art is on consignment and is rotated. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Beer and the Caprese salad are perfect compliments to a pizza pie at Rance's Chicago Pizza in Costa Mesa. H. LORREN AU JR., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Rance's Chicago Pizza

Where: 1420 Baker St., Costa Mesa

When: Daily, lunch and dinner

Phone: 714-708-2143

While everyone else rushes to embrace the thin-crust, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza trend, there's one newcomer going in the opposite direction. Rance's Chicago Pizza serves some of the biggest, deepest, fattest, heaviest, most defiant pizzas in the county. Chicago-style pizza is a sport unlike any other. One slice is practically a meal. Two slices border on competitive eating. But why stop there?

In Chicago, there is a longtime debate as to who defines the ultimate Chicago-style pie. It's a Hatfield-vs.-McCoy style feud between two of that city's oldest pizzerias. But never mind picking sides. Rance's gives us a friendly middle ground with truly authentic choices. The stuffed "house special" with sausage and green peppers is as close to Giordano's (or Lou Malnatti's) as you'll find outside the Windy City (although it could probably use a few more olives to be a dead ringer). And the pan pizza is delightfully reminiscent of the Original Gino's East. Although Gino's unique crust has a lot more cornmeal, the deep pan construction at Rance's is spot-on.

Warning: Authentic Chicago-style pizza is never quick. These pies take about 45 minutes to cook. (Don't worry, they have Goose Island on tap.) But you can always call ahead to give your pizza a head start before you arrive.

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